Blows killed 3-year-old, cop says

The mother's boyfriend is held without bond, charged with murder, in the death of the little girl in February.

Three blows to the head and one to the abdomen killed 3-year-old Joslyn Asberry.

Joslyn's optic nerve was damaged, two ribs were broken, her liver was lacerated and she had multiple abrasions.

"Those injuries are consistent with shaken baby syndrome, but in this case, the amount of damage was as if this baby's head struck a hard object, not a fist," Denver homicide Detective Joseph Delmonico testified Wednesday.

Joslyn died just after 2 a.m. Feb. 1 in the care of her mother's boyfriend, Alexis Ortiz.

Denver County Judge Andrew S. Armatas ruled there was enough evidence to hold Ortiz for trial without bond. Ortiz, 31, is charged with child abuse resulting in Joslyn's death and first-degree murder.

Delmonico testified that when he first interviewed Ortiz, he denied hurting Joslyn. Ortiz told Delmonico that at 1 a.m., he heard a bang coming from downstairs and then Joslyn screamed and started crying. She then stopped breathing.

Delmonico then interviewed Joslyn's mother, Keyona, who was working at the time of the incident. She said Ortiz called her in a panic, said Joslyn wasn't breathing and told her that he "threw the child."

Delmonico then questioned Ortiz again and told him what Joslyn's mother had said, which prompted Ortiz to change his story.

"Then he said, 'OK, I pushed her,' " Delmonico said. When questioned, Ortiz said that when he returned to the house from taking the mother to work that Joslyn began screaming and crying for her mom.

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"She became more upset when he grabbed her and he pushed her," Delmonico testified.

Ortiz told Delmonico he had issues with Joslyn's father coming over to their house late to visit with his child and "it just kept building up."

Ortiz's defense attorney, Arnie Beckman, said someone else could have caused Joslyn's fatal injuries prior to the night she died.

Yamin Morales, who lived in the house with Joslyn and her family, testified that the day before she died, Joslyn complained of headaches and took a nap, which was rare for the little girl.

But Morales also testified that Ortiz did not like Joslyn and disciplined her by putting her in the corner.

"If she turned before he was ready, he would shove her head into the wall," Morales said.